Does anyone else find it peculiar that Hasbro would continue to focus on quasi-Episode I specific type toys for the new 2013 product year? That’s what they did with the MTT Droid Fighter With Battle Droid & Obi-Wan Kenobi set. 2012 is most likely for you a year you’d like to forget. Despite what was actually an incredible product year for Star Wars collectors (can anyone say “The Vintage Collection’s finest moments?....), distribution woes and issues and odd action figure choices for both Movie Heroes and The Clone Wars basic figure lines overshadowed pretty much everything else that was “positive”. Hasbro has promised great change for the future and 2013 is no exception. But we have to be wary when we see things like the MTT Droid Fighter because it still seems that Hasbro has one foot in the door still trying to celebrate the overcast 3D release of The Phantom Menace. The efforts put forth in the revitalized Class I are admirable, but keep in mind that Hasbro believes these are for the kids. So the articulation and play features have been designed with them in mind and not you.

The MTT Droid Fighter has been created to work with the Trade Federation MTT (Multi Troop Transport) from the 2012 Star Wars [The Phantom Menace 3D] line. This “off screen” vehicle looks like a piece of the larger MTT came off and created this vehicle. From that perspective the vehicle is seamless. Even the packaging shows the smaller vehicle shooting off from the larger MTT in a freeze-framed still from a scene during the Battle of Naboo in Episode I. As a toy, the MTT Droid Fighter has some neat play features. An opening cockpit is standard for all vehicles and this vehicle is no different. The cockpit area is very large and there is actually too much room for the included Battle Droid. There are two wings that are pivot-jointed and you can pose them in multiple configurations. The play feature here is that the cannons can be removed from the hull and then placed on the wings. It’s simple, but it’s notable. The vehicle is beautifully painted in the common Separatist tan and brown colors and the Separatist symbol is placed in a bright white to be seen from any angle.

The included figures here are a bit of a let down. Hasbro used one of the “more articulated” Battle Droid figures from 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Trade Federation MTT (Multi Troop Transport) vehicle and painted it the color scheme of a Battle Droid Pilot. This means the areas of the shoulders and abdomen are colored in blue. Sadly, the Battle Droid doesn’t come with his backpack (which is actually screen accurate) so a big hole is visible from the back. And with limited articulation, you may start to think that this wasn’t the droid you were looking for here. The included Obi-Wan Kenobi is bittersweet. The sculpt is incredible and one of the finest looking Episode I Obi-Wan Kenobi figures we have ever seen. But he only comes with five points of articulation which severely limits just how much you can do with him in your collection. A straight repack from 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Duel At Naboo Battle Packs set, he comes with a lightsaber to slice up the various Battle Droids that cross his path. The MTT Droid Fighter With Battle Droid & Obi-Wan Kenobi is a decent addition to the Class I line, but we are hoping that Hasbro will start giving us screen specific items in this scale more frequently.